The incident of players dying due to the injuries sustained during the field of play dates to 1624 when an Englishman in the name of Jasper Vinall was struck on his head by a bat and the player died in the city of Horsted Keynes.
Since then, there have been numerous incidents where the players culminated either due to an injury sustained while playing or due to some other incident that caused the death on the field of play.
The latest name to that list was of Raymond van Schoor, the most capped player of Namibia who made more than 200 appearances for Namibia at different levels. The young batsmen collapsed while batting in the CSA Provincial 50 Over Challenge match against Free State at Wanderers Cricket Ground on 15 November 2015.
He was declared dead after 5 days due to a stroke that he suffered while playing the game. The 25-year-old was named as the Cricket Namibia’s cricketer of the year in 2012 and had represented Namibia at U-15 and U-19 levels as well.
Let’s go back in time and have a look at the players who died due to an on-field injury.
Phil Hughes (Australia) died at 25 in 2014
The incident happened in Australia’s domestic tournament – Sheffield Shield, where Hughes got hit by a bouncer on the head, behind his ear, while playing for South Australia against New South Wales. The hit fractured his skull which led to massive internal bleeding and had to be operated in Sydney. However, the batsman could not make it and died after 2 days.
Darryn Randall (South Africa) died at 32 in 2013
The South African wicket-keeper batsman suffered a blow to his head while attempting a pull shot and collapsed on the field. He was declared brought dead by the hospital.
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Zulfiqar Bhatti (Pakistan) died at 22 in 2013
Another deadly incident of the year 2013 occurred in a domestic match in Pakistan. Bhatti was hit on the chest by the ball after which he collapsed on the pitch. He could not be revived in hospital.
Richard Beaumont (England) died at 33 in 2012
The player fell on the ground while playing a match and could not be revived in hospital. He is suspected to have died due to a heart attack.
Wasim Raja (Pakistan) died at 54 in 2006
He was one of the useful left-handed all-rounders for his country. On the day of his death he was playing a county match for Surrey and cited uneasiness after bowling 2-3 overs. In a matter of few minutes, the cricketer collapsed on the field and never woke up. It was revealed that he suffered a massive heart attack during the game.
Raman Lamba (India) died at 38 in 1998
The former India international was playing a club match in Dhaka, Bangladesh when he was hit on the head while fielding and suffered injuries to his brain. He went into the coma, 3 days after the incident and was later declared dead. He also represented Ireland in unofficial ODIs.
Ian Folley (England) died at 30 in 1993
He was hit by the ball below his eye while batting for Derbyshire against Workington and then went on to suffer a deadly heart attack in the hospital which resulted in his death.
Wilf Slack (England) died at 34 in 1989
The left-handed English opener collapsed during a match in Bajul, Gambia and later died. In the previous matches, he had suffered from blackouts 4 times, but the doctor seemed to have no clue about the reason for his demise.
Abdul Aziz (Pakistan) died at 18 in 1959
The wicket-keeper batsman, suffered a blow on his chest while batting and died due to his injuries while being rushed to the hospital.
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Alcwyn Jenkins (England) died at 72 in 2009
The entry of Jenkins in this suggests that on the cricketing field even umpires face the danger and not just players. He was hit by a throw from a fielder while officiating a league match. He succumbed to his injuries from the accident.